


Bullet-proof

by Luna_Manar



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Gen, Melancholy, One Shot, Orphanage, Pre-Game(s), Short One Shot, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-22
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-31 16:55:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3985720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna_Manar/pseuds/Luna_Manar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shelter is a relative, and often illusory thing. Ellone and Squall share a precious calm before the storm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bullet-proof

They were children when he'd come to her in the wild fields while she made chains out of cooperative flowers. Exhausted and adventure-bruised, Squall collapsed beside her in the grass. 

“Maybe I'm dying,” he mused. He was still too young for sarcasm.

“You're not dying,” she returned with the haughty patience of an older sister. “You're just really tired.”

He shrugged skeptically and plucked at a piece of grass. “If I do, can it be here? Is that okay?”

Unfazed, she looped a fine weave of white flowers around his collar. She knew her reassurance meant more than the question or its implications, that he feared isolation more than oblivion without knowing or understanding either word. So she answered, “It's okay.” She fastened two final stems together, closing the chain; a perfect fit.

The dense, feathery petals shivered in the coastal breeze, lining his small shoulders like a tiny white mane. A common occurrence, he ignored the floral mantle and leaned against her. “I'm gonna close my eyes.” He looked up at her, seeking acceptance, if not permission, for whatever might result.

“It's okay,” she told him again. “I won't go anywhere.”

Lulled by her affirmation and the warm afternoon winds, he sank to rest his head on her knees and drifted until sleep found him. He imagined his pulse to have stopped once it got quiet enough, and dreamed of warm stillness, unable to fear what he could not comprehend.

Ellone rested her hand on his salt-stiffened hair, untangling two snarled strands and combing through the rest while she waited. When the clouds were reddening and her brother was fast asleep, the memory of his words sent a shudder through her slight frame. 

Of course, she knew what dying meant. She had never shared her knowledge with Squall, determined not to instill fear where love would do. After all, she'd never known such peace, and he'd never known anything else. There were no bullet holes on this lonely shore. 

She cast behind her at the old stone house and its Matron's lilting summons. Straining quietly to lift, she staggered to her feet and, with as much grace as she could, carried her family home.

**Author's Note:**

> This was out of left field, but it came together quickly, so here it is. Possibly the shortest complete story I've written. I know the flower-chain thing is overused, but, eh. It worked.


End file.
